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Baby Brains and Robomom


BABY BRAINS AND ROBOMOM; Simon James; Cambridge, MA: Candlewick, 2007, unpaged. Picture Book
Readers of Simon James' previous Baby Brains books will welcome the return of "the smartest baby in the whole world" in this latest adventure. Baby Brains worries about hard his mother has to work. Even though he has invented the self-rocking cradle and the motorized stroller, his mother still falls asleep sometimes in the middle of his bedtime story ("Hamlet"). At first Robomom is a great asset to the household--she irons, cooks, and does dishes. But when she takes over tasks that Baby Brains wants his parents to do--give him a bath, tuck him in--things go from bad to worse. Robomom begins washing Baby Brains with the dishes and serving nuts and bolts in crankcase oil for breakfast. Mercifully, Robomom blows up, and peace, love, and order are restored. This is a fun book for families, poking gentle fun at parents who are looking for ways to give their baby a leg up on other babies, and, at the same time emphasizing what is most important in any parent-child relationship. Highly recommended.

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